After almost a month of trepidation on the state of Illinois basketball, head coach John Groce finally has the wheels turning with his team in the midst of a four-game winning streak and an NCAA tournament bid all but likely.

As important as the program’s present is the program’s future, and Groce spent Monday on the recruiting trail for a highly touted prospect in the Class of 2014.

According to a tweet from recruiting analyst Horace Neysmith, Groce and assistant coach Jamall Walker were in Memphis, Tenn., to visit Leron Black.

Neysmith said in the tweet that Black is a “(b)ig target for Illinois, in good with (him).”

Black, who is listed on ESPN as the No. 11 prospect in the 2014 class, decommitted from Baylor in early January and has reopened his recruitment. Black stands 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds and plays the small and power forward positions.

Scout.com portrays Black as a hot commodity with interest from schools like Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio State and Florida in addition to Illinois.

Just like geometry class

Before he coached under the hot lights on the collegiate stage, Groce was a teacher — specifically, a math teacher.

As he sat with media members in a news conference Sunday after drubbing Northwestern, Groce likened his team’s progress to that of his former students who, at first, puzzled over their geometry homework.

“When students were trying to solve proofs, they couldn’t solve them unless they knew the theorems,” Groce said. “For us, I think our guys are starting to know the theorems instinctively now, so they’re able to solve things instinctively. It went from becoming just knowledge to habits. And I think that’s a big difference.”

Bertrand versus Sheehey for sixth man

National pundits have pegged Indiana small forward Will Sheehey as the nation’s premiere sixth man for his contributions on the No. 1 team in the land.

Sheehey earned the role through efficient production off the bench, but as Illini faithful know, another Big Ten team possesses a similar weapon.

Joseph Bertrand, a springy junior guard, has wowed spectators with athleticism and photograph-worthy finishes around the rim. His statistics, though, bear more than a slight resemblance to Sheehey’s numbers.

Sheehey averages 10.2 points per game on 51.3 percent shooting and 38.6 percent 3-point shooting, 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.9 steals in 22.3 minutes per game.

Bertrand is not far behind, and actually ahead, in some of those categories: 8.3 points per game on 52.7 percent shooting and 34.1 percent 3-point shooting, 4.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.9 steals in 23.5 minutes per game.

Sheehey will likely run away with the “best sixth man in the nation” moniker, but Bertrand will be mentioned right alongside of Sheehey in any conversation on the topic.

Thomas can be reached at [email protected] and @ThomasBruch.